


Doubts and Worry and Strategies

by ChokolatteJedi



Category: Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Introspection, Strategy & Tactics, Women Being Awesome, Worry, Yuletide, Yuletide 2013
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-16
Updated: 2013-12-16
Packaged: 2018-01-04 21:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1085817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChokolatteJedi/pseuds/ChokolatteJedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merryweather has definite misgivings about this whole adventure</p>
            </blockquote>





	Doubts and Worry and Strategies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [La Reine Noire (lareinenoire)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lareinenoire/gifts).



> Huge thanks to my beta, RJ Anderson!

Working Title: Doubts and Worry and Strategies  
Working Summary: Merryweather has definite misgivings about this whole adventure

That night, as the baby slept and Flora covered their tracks, Fauna and Merryweather sat in the small cottage together, having tea.

"You shouldn't have told her she wasn't wanted." Fauna said, in her usual way.

Merryweather snorted. "But she wasn't!" And Maleficent knew it, too.

Fauna frowned. "Yes dear, but you didn't need to rub it in her face. That just made her angrier."

"She was already angry!" Merryweather protested. "She was angry when she missed Phillip's christening! She was already going to do something horrible, regardless of what I said!"

"Shhh! You'll wake the baby!"

Merryweather lowered her voice but continued her rant. "At least saying it might have provoked Maleficent to attack me, instead of the baby. You always try to draw the attack toward the stronger fighter!"

Fauna sighed but didn't argue; she had never been much for tactics - that was Merryweather's talent. The Good Sisters had always served the royal family, and had guided them through many wars. Fauna worked in the camps, tending to the wounded and sick, Flora blazed ahead on the front lines, and Merryweather kept by the commanders, offering strategic advice and problem solving. They had perfected their roles over the centuries, and each knew to bow to the others when it came to her strengths. If Merryweather said something was tactically important, Fauna knew better than to argue.

Of course, Flora still blazed ahead with her spur-of-the-moment plans sometimes, despite Merryweather's objections, but mostly they worked as a cohesive unit.

Merryweather contemplated this whole scenario. They were in way over their heads, thinking that they could raise a child and hide her from Maleficent for sixteen years, _especially_ without magic. But Flora had already convinced King Stephan, so Merryweather had to go along.

However, she was going to do everything in her power to keep them from being discovered. Maleficent was, as much as she hated to admit it, a formidable foe, and the war that had raged for the last fifteen years had only strengthened her powers. If only Hubert hadn't picked that fight with his Northern neighbor, and then dragged Stephen into it! Before, the Good Sisters had always driven Maleficent from these lands, but with their recent occupation in the war, Maleficent had established a home in some mountainous ruins, and had gained an army of minions.

Maleficent was stronger now, with several recent victories to bolster her. The sisters couldn't afford to be overconfident. That was why Merryweather had sent Flora back to cover their tracks, and why she was even now mapping the space around the cottage in her mind. No reason not to have several avenues of escape planned, just in case.

In the morning, Fauna would need to gather the local animals, and Flora the plants, and set them as sentries. Their disguises were good enough, but not perfect, and they would need a plan for when they went into town for supplies. Three women of their descriptions appearing with a baby at this very moment would be sure to catch Maleficent's eye; only one of them should ever be seen by the townsfolk, and the others never mentioned. A different story, perhaps of a recent widow now forced to fend for herself, would serve as further cover.

Merryweather was so deeply engrossed in her planning that it took her a moment to realize that Fauna was saying something. "What?"

"Isn't this going to be exciting?" Fauna repeated.

Merryweather considered this. The next sixteen years were going to be nerve-wracking, and hard, without magic. And possibly even dangerous, if they were ever found and had to fight or run. She supposed that could be classified as exciting, in one sense of the word. Not the sense that Fauna meant, of course, because she was only concerned with playing housekeeper, but Merryweather decided to humor her for the moment.

"I'm sure it will be," she sighed.

Content with that, Fauna smiled and refilled her teacup.

❦

As Merryweather walked along the familiar path she kept an ear out, as usual, for any suspicious noises. A flock of ravens cawed in the distance, which always made her heart pound, but the local birds had assured Fauna that the ravens were natives. If any newcomer came, like Maleficent's Diablo, they would be far more likely to chase him off as competition than allow him to search through their territory. Still, whenever she heard them, Merryweather worried.

Six years of silence from Maleficent should have calmed her nerves, but it anything the passing time made Merryweather more anxious. The more time that passed, the more likely it became that someone would recognize her as one of the Good Sisters, and the more likely it became that Maleficent's goons would be at the right place at the right time to spot her.

It was only sheer luck that she hadn't run into them last time; the baker's wife had told her all about the goon attack the two nights before, when every nursery and child's room in the town was ransacked. Merryweather had taken the opportunity to reinforce her cover story of being a barren widow, and had rushed through the rest of her trip as quickly as possible.

Once again, Merryweather regretted that she couldn't simply use her magic to conjure what they needed, as she always had. However, she had spent enough time around war leaders to know how to supply her little group, and it was reassuring to get the occasional update on how Maleficent's search was progressing. As long as Aurora was safely hidden, Maleficent should be anxious, and if Merryweather was going to worry, then so should that evil witch.

Aurora - they called her Briar Rose - was also growing up, which further concerned Merryweather. One the one hand, she was delightfully surprised that they were apparently successful at this whole child-rearing thing. And Briar Rose was a sweet, obedient girl. But she was curious, and energetic, and she loved to explore the woods. She had already talked Fauna into introducing her to the local woodland creatures, which were all charmed by her lovely voice. Merryweather was holding off on teaching her about the elements, and strategy, but Flora had been teaching her about all the different kinds of plants for years now. Briar Rose was just competent and confident enough to try exploring the forest on her own.

And that thought terrified Merryweather.

The girl was quite clear on the 'no strangers' rule, but she was openly encouraged to speak to animals. If Maleficent or her goons should happen by, Merryweather was sure Briar Rose would hide. But if Diablo or one of her other animal scouts came through... that could be a different story. Merryweather couldn't see a good solution, other than barring the girl from leaving the yard. But not only would the others object, even Merryweather herself would be hard-pressed to uphold such a rule. Briar Rose loved the forest, and keeping her from it seemed wrong, somehow.

So all Merryweather could do was worry, and plan for every contingency she could think of, and get as much news as she could on her brief forays into town.

❦

As her sisters and Briar Rose slept, Merryweather kept watch. It was strange to think that this was the last watch shift she would take in this small cottage. Tomorrow Briar Rose would turn sixteen, and at the end of the day she would be returned safely to her parents.

Yet far from reassuring Merryweather, that knowledge only made her all the more alert for danger. Maleficent had been searching fruitlessly for Aurora for sixteen years now, and she had to be getting desperate.

Magic had consequences, and if a spell was cast and then foiled, there would be a backlash upon the caster. Maleficent had cast the most powerful spell Merryweather had ever seen, and if she and her sisters truly prevented it from coming to fruition, the recoil upon Maleficent would be tremendous. She had to be anxious to prevent that.

If the Good Sisters could just maintain this mission for one more day, then Briar Rose would be safe, and Maleficent's power would be badly stricken. And that thought pleased Merryweather to no end.

Unfortunately, the other question that kept Merryweather occupied this night was the inevitable "what now?" She had felt it the night the peace treaty was signed, ending fifteen years of war and effectively removing her from her war duties. Of course, Queen Leah had become pregnant soon after King Stephan's return home, and it wasn't long after that that Merryweather and the others were caring for baby Aurora.

Now, another sixteen-year-long mission was ending, and Merryweather would again be at a loss. What would she do without little Briar Rose constantly occupying her thoughts?

The fire popped, and Merryweather started.

Every sound she heard in these last sixteen years, her mind had amplified into Maleficent's inevitable attack. That Maleficent had never appeared didn't offer relief, but only prolonged the anticipation.

Now there was an idea, Merryweather thought, resettling herself in her rocking chair. With her spell foiled, Maleficent's powers would be vastly sapped by the backlash. Perhaps the very mission that Merryweather needed now was another battle. A good rout of the evil fairy, to dissipate her tension and give her something to do.

Maleficent's power had only increased marginally in the last sixteen years, since she was preoccupied with the search for Aurora; but still, she was too powerful for the Good Sisters' liking. Maybe once Aurora was safely with her family and her future husband, Merryweather and the others could expel Maleficent from her castle in the Forbidden Mountains and send her fleeing from the kingdom.

Without a fortified citadel to attack from, or an established goon army at her command, Maleficent would be unable to cast such strong spells in the future, and without a foothold in Stephan's Kingdom, she would be easier to rebuff with every new attack in the future.

Merryweather nodded to herself. Yes, this was a good plan. It would benefit the kingdom, and it would occupy Merryweather's mind, so that she didn't miss her little Briar Rose so much.

Not that she would ever admit that motive to her sisters, but still Merryweather mourned the coming loss of her little girl. Despite the years of doubts, and strategizing, and worry, Merryweather loved their Briar Rose, and she would miss her. But Aurora was going to be returning to her rightful home, where she had always belonged. And the Good Sisters would find some other way to serve the family, as they always had.

Slightly cheered by these thoughts, Merryweather continued her last vigil.


End file.
